obsessive-compulsive

[ uhb-ses-iv-kuhm-puhl-siv ]

/ əbˈsɛs ɪv kəmˈpʌl sɪv /

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adjective

noting or relating to a personality characterized by perfectionism, indecision, conscientiousness, concern with detail, rigidity, and inhibition.

Psychiatry. noting or relating to a disorder or neurosis characterized by persistent intrusion of unwanted thoughts (obsessions) or the performance of actions, as repeated hand-washing, that one is unable to stop (compulsions): obsessive-compulsive disorder.

noun

a person having obsessive-compulsive traits.

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Origin of obsessive-compulsive

First recorded in 1925–30; obsessive + compulsive

Words nearby obsessive-compulsive

observer, obsess, obsessed, obsession, obsessive, obsessive-compulsive, obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsidian, obsidian dating, obsidional coin, obsolesc.

How to use obsessive-compulsive in a sentence

Obsessive exercising and inadequate nutrition can, over time, put people at high risk for overuse injuries like stress fractures.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
McCauley may have married beneath her station, but Gordon-Levitt has obsessive fans.
All Your Internet Boyfriends Are Taken: Gosling, Cumberbatch, and now Joseph Gordon-Levitt|Melissa Leon|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But it looks like it was created by crazed person with obsessive-compulsive behavior.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Panicked, I reached out to hoarding experts, who often refer to any kind of obsessive digital collecting as “infomania.”
I’m a Digital Hoarder|Lizzie Crocker|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

His detail seeking in our meetings is compulsive and a little nuts.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nowhere in the world, I am sure, does the "to be continued in our next" interest take hold on one with such a compulsive grip.
America To-day, Observations and Reflections|William Archer
In the hopes of averting so abhorrent, but compulsive an alternative.
Social England under the Regency, Vol. 1 (of 2)|John Ashton.
He still takes us by the throat, but his grip is not compulsive.
The Life of Francis Thompson|Everard Meynell
Throughout his literary activity it has an obsessive hold on his mind.
Prophets of Dissent|Otto Heller
Political and legal differences can be settled either by amicable or by compulsive means.
International Law. A Treatise. Volume II (of 2)|Lassa Francis Oppenheim

Medical definitions for obsessive-compulsive

obsessive-compulsive

adj.

Having a tendency to dwell on unwanted thoughts or perform certain repetitious rituals, especially as a defense against anxiety from unconscious conflicts.

A person who exhibits obsessive-compulsive behavior.